For chkn I shredded and baked some oyster mushrooms and baked some home-made seitan in a convection oven until it was poofy and crispy, which added a lot of flavor to the seitan (which I normally don’t love because it has that distinct flavor that is hard to mask).
I asked ChatGPT and it says, “It sounds like you’re describing spaetzle, a type of soft egg noodle or dumpling commonly found in German, Swiss, and Austrian cuisine. Unlike flour-based drop dumplings, spaetzle dough is made with flour, eggs, and milk, then passed through a special press or colander to create small, irregularly shaped noodles. They are often boiled and served as a side dish, sometimes with butter or gravy. Does that sound like what you’re thinking of?”
To make it vegan, it says, “To make vegan spaetzle, you can replace the eggs and milk with plant-based alternatives. Here’s a simple vegan spaetzle recipe:
Ingredients:
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup plant-based milk (e.g., almond, oat, or soy milk)
• ½ cup water (adjust for consistency)
• 2 tbsp olive oil or melted vegan butter
• A pinch of turmeric (optional, for color)
Instructions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
2. Prepare the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the plant-based milk, water, olive oil (or vegan butter), and turmeric (if using) until combined.
3. Combine wet and dry: Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until a smooth, thick batter forms. The consistency should be thicker than pancake batter but still pourable. Add more water if needed.
4. Cook the spaetzle: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Using a spaetzle maker, a colander with large holes, or even a potato ricer, press small amounts of dough into the boiling water.
5. Boil until they float: The spaetzle will cook quickly, rising to the surface after about 1-2 minutes. Once they float, remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.
6. Optional: Toss with vegan butter or olive oil to prevent sticking, and serve as a side dish or with a sauce of your choice.
This vegan version has a similar texture to traditional spaetzle, with a slight difference in flavor, but it still captures the soft, noodle-like quality. You could add nutritional yeast or vegan cheese if you want to boost the savory taste.”
Yeah, Spätzle is definitely not what I had in mind. The dumplings are rolled out with a rolling pin and shaped with a knife before being boiled, more like a hand-made lasagna noodle or something (but smaller, and irregularly shaped, and thicker). Spätzle dough could work, though, for this purpose. I could probably just use my normal dumpling dough, just thicken with a bit more flour and leave out the leavening agents.